Lee making name for himself and Warriors

WARRIORS

Updated 11:58 pm, Friday, November 30, 2012

David Lee had 31 points on 13-of-15 shooting to create some buzz about the Warriors on a national stage in Thursday night's comeback victory over the Denver Nuggets.

David Lee had 31 points on 13-of-15 shooting to create some buzz about the Warriors on a national stage in Thursday night's comeback victory over the Denver Nuggets.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

Image 2 of 2

David Lee and the Warriors rallied past Denver on a prime-time stage Thursday.

David Lee and the Warriors rallied past Denver on a prime-time stage Thursday.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

Lee making name for himself and Warriors

1 / 2

Back to Gallery

After David Lee's dominating performance in the Warriors' 106-105 victory against Denver on Thursday, TNT analyst Shaquille O'Neal dubbed the Golden State power forward "WCW" - the "White Chris Webber."

"I love the nickname, love the nickname," Lee said Friday, a day after putting up 31 points on 13-of-15 shooting, nine rebounds and six assists. "I got to hear about it via Twitter after the game. The biggest thing is that people were talking about the Warriors. People were talking about the positive things within the organization.

"It was a great time for us to get a big win against a team we wanted to beat on a national stage."

Lee is averaging 17.4 points, 10.7 rebounds and a career-high 3.9 assists, making him the only player in the NBA posting at least 17 points, 10 rebounds and three assists a game. In the Warriors' history, only Wilt Chamberlain, Nate Thurmond, Neil Johnston and Jerry Lucas have finished a season with those numbers.

But as O'Neal pointed out on Thursday's postgame broadcast, no matter what numbers Lee, or Webber before him, produces, he doesn't seem to gain much national attention.

"The difference with that comparison is that Chris Webber actually won games," coach Mark Jackson said. "That Sacramento team was awfully good and had a legitimate chance at winning a championship. With David, he's never been put in that position. He's never had a cast where you could foresee him in that position, but I think it is turning. The way you make that turn is by being on national TV, with an audience watching, and you have that type of night.

"We certainly value what he brings to the table, and we're very comfortable and confident no matter who is on the other side of the court as a power forward that he's matching up with."

Especially without center Andrew Bogut (left ankle) in the lineup, Lee knows he's going to have a tough matchup every night. Indiana can take its pick of past All-Stars, center Roy Hibbert or power forward David West, to play against Lee on offense and defense Saturday.

The Pacers went into Friday's games leading the league in rebounds and blocked shots. They've allowed 34 or fewer points in the paint in seven of their past nine games.

That should be fine by Lee, who is a good pick-and-pop shooter and has gotten better with the timing and location of his passes from the elbow to open shooters. He has at least five assists in six of 15 games this season after accomplishing that only seven times in 2011-12.

"I'm definitely a willing passer, and it makes it a lot easier because those guys don't need much time to get off their shots," Lee said. "Keeping Steph (Curry) and Klay (Thompson) in the game is important. If those guys have been a little bit off, all it takes is one open look. They hit a 15-footer and then they're right back into it and can score 10 or 12 points before you know it."

Saturday's game

Who: Pacers (8-8) vs. Warriors (9-6)

Where: Oracle Arena

When: 7:30 p.m.

TV/Radio: CSNBA/680

Of note: Indiana forward Danny Granger, who has averaged career bests of 23.6 points and 7.1 rebounds in 14 games against the Warriors, is out with patellar tendinosis in his left knee. ... The Pacers haven't found much middle ground through their first 15 games, ranking near the top or bottom of the league in a number of important statistics. Heading into Friday's games, Indiana was first in rebounds (48.5 per game), defensive field-goal percentage (40.2) and blocked shots (7.4), and third in defensive scoring average (91.2). However, the Pacers were last in turnovers caused (12.1), including 28th in steals (5.9), and second to last in scoring (90.4) and 28th in shooting percentage (41.0).

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.